Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s speech at the dedication of Jharsuguda airport and other development projects to the nation at Chhattisgarh
Governor of Odisha Shriman Professor Ganeshi Lal Ji, Chief Minister of the State Shriman Naveen Patnaik Ji, my colleagues in the Union Council of Ministers Shriman Jual Oram Ji, Dharmendra Pradhan Ji and all the dignitaries present here,
I came here from Talcher today where we had started revival the defunct fertiliser plant at a cost of nearly Rs. 13,000 crores. In a way, it will become the hub of economic activity in that region. A modern Odisha, a modern India should have modern infra-structure. So, I took the opportunity to inaugurate Veer Surendra Sain Airport here. It is natural that when the travelers who will come here and hear about Veer Surendra Sain will be attracted towards the bravery of Odisha, towards the sacrifice of Odisha and towards the stories of dedication of Odisha.
Today, I have got the opportunity to inaugurate several other big schemes from here. This is the second biggest airport of Odisha. It is for you to find out why it has not been constructed for so many years. May be it was waiting for me.
I belong to Gujarat where there is a district called Kutch. It’s a desert and on the other side is Pakistan. In that district, there are five airports. Today the construction of the second airport of Odisha begins after so many years. Suresh Ji said just a while ago about the kind of progress that is taking place in the aviation sector of the country. You will be surprised to know that the total number of planes flying so far in the country since independence is just about four hundred and fifty. This was the case so far since independence and in this year alone, the orders have been placed for nine hundred and fifty new aircraft. Could anybody imagine what we are about to achieve and how fast we are going ahead?I believe that Veer Surendra Sain Airport is to be built at a place which is the centre of three places Bhuvaneshwar, Ranchi and Raipur. You can imagine that it will provide wings to so many possibilities of development which will take a new flight of development because of it.
Such facilities are extremely important for the industrialists who want to invest in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and nearby areas of Chhattisgarh. If they are able to easily travel to this place they would like it from the business point of view. It has been our thinking that the meaning of Sabka Sath-Sabka Vikas is that there should be balance between regions. This kind of imbalance where only Western India continues to develop and Eastern India continues to lack in terms of development creates crisis for the country. And that is why it is our constant effort that Eastern India should be developed. And development of Odisha is an important part of it. Be it Eastern Uttar Pradesh or Odisha or West Bengal or Assam or North-East, the development of the entire region is extremely important.
Today I am inaugurating an airport here, I am going to inaugurate an airport in Sikkim the day after tomorrow. You can imagine how much work is being done and at what speed. Today, I also got the opportunity to dedicate a coalmine to the nation. We are aware that energy is at the centre of activities and Odisha is fortunate that it has the treasure of black diamond. And today the work to extract coal from the mine starts. Also the work to produce energy fromthat coal begins and so the prospects of development brighten.
Today, a railway project can connect an airport ; connectivity is playing a big role furthering development. Be it a highway or railway or airways or waterway. The work of connecting all places by internet is speedily increasing.
This tribal area is being connected by railways today: this in itself is an important step. I believe that in future connectivity will be a game changer for all round development of Odisha. I am proud to dedicate Veer Surendra Sain Airport to the people of the area.
Thank you very much.